Climate Comedy: German Coal Use Jumps 3.5%, Increasing Emissions

Electricity generated by burning hard coal and lignite climbed to 24.35 terawatt-hours from 23.52 terawatt-hours in the same month a year earlier, according to the state statistics office, whose January data is the latest available.

Coal burning expanded to meet higher demand for heating as temperatures in Berlin fell an average 2.3 degrees Celsius below those a year earlier. The price of December carbon dioxide emission permits averaged 21.99 euros ($34.09) a metric ton in the month, according to the European Climate Exchange in London. That's more than five times the 3.85 euro price of December 2007 permits a year earlier....MORE

Got that?The Carbon Cartel has a set-up whereby the colder it is, the more the rate payers and tax-payers have to pony up to buy carbon credits to fight global warming.Pure genius.We were trying to point this out last November in two separate posts:

A severe winter in Europe this year will mean business worth millions of dollars for Indian companies. Surprised? Welcome to the global trade in carbon credits.

Got that?If the computer models turn out to be wrong and Europe doesn't experience warming, they will have to pay higher utility bills, so the utilities, in turn, can pay India and China to offset the carbon emissions from higher fuel use.Talk about your unintended (I hope) consequences.